Liberal Internationalism and the Decline of the State: a Comparative Analysis of the Thought of Richard Cobden
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Liberal Internationalism and the Decline of the State: A Comparative Analysis of the Thought of Richard Cobden. David Mitranv. and Kenichi Ohmae Per Axel Hammarlund The London School of Economics and Political Science Submitted for the degree of Ph.D. in International Relations, 2003 1 UMI Number: U178652 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dissertation Publishing UMI U178652 Published by ProQuest LLC 2014. Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 fflUT'CAL AMO Declaration In conformity with rule 6.3.7. of the University of London Regulations for the Degrees of MPhil and PhD, I swear that the work presented in the thesis entitled ‘Liberal Internationalism and the Decline of the State: A Comparative Analysis of the Thought of Richard Cobden, David Mitrany, and Kenichi Ohmae’ is my own. Per A. Hammarlund New York, NY, 21 March, 2003. Abstract The purpose of the thesis is to provide a critical analysis of the liberal idea of the decline of the state based on a historical comparison. It takes special note of the implications of state failure for international relations. The author identifies three acknowledged proponents of the theme. They are Richard Cobden (1804-1865), David Mitrany (1888-1975), and Kenichi Ohmae (b. 1943). The dissertation analyses how Cobden, Mitrany, and Ohmae view the state and its role in their respective periods. It elucidates similarities and differences between their conceptions with the aim of shedding light on the status of the state in their systems of political and economic thought. It also puts the three thinkers into context by exposing the influence of their historical and social environments. A supplementary objective is to infuse caution into future prophesies about the state’s imminent decline. The text is divided into three sections. The first analyses Cobden, Mitrany, and Ohmae’s empirical claims. The second focuses on their normative judgements. Finally, the third directs the attention to their predictive assertions. The discussion is organised according to the distinction between the state as a country in its entirety, and the state as an institution of government separate from the society which it rules. The central question of the dissertation asks what we can learn from a study of the history of the liberal idea of the decline of the state. The thesis emphasises, in particular, five lessons and concludes that Cobden, Mitrany, and Ohmae primarily propose normative arguments for less state involvement in economic and international relations, but conceal them partly in empirical and predictive assertions. The liberal idea of the decline of the state is more of an ideological statement in response to contemporary political, social, and economic trends than an objective observation of an empirically verifiable fact. 3 CONTENTS Acknowledgements..................................................................................................................7 1 INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................ 8 Purpose .................................................................................................................. 11 Thesis......................................................................................................................12 Methodology............... 13 Disposition ............................................................................................................. 16 2 BRIEF BIOGRAPHIES.............................................................................................20 Richard Cobden (1804-1865) ........................................................................ 20 Life, Personality, and General Concerns...................................................... 22 David Mitrany (1888-1975).................................................................................26 Life, Personality, and General Concerns...................................................... 28 Kenichi Ohmae (b. 1943).....................................................................................32 Life, Personality, and General Concerns...................................................... 34 3 THE DECLINE OF THE STATE: THE EMPIRICAL CLAIM ....................... 38 Richard Cobden and the New Age .................................................................... 39 The Rise o f the Middle Class.......................................................................... 40 Taxes, Tariffs, and Expenditure.....................................................................44 David Mitrany and ‘The Trend of Our Time’ ................................................46 ‘The Comprehensive State' .............................................................................48 Democratic Deficit.......................................................................................... 50 Community and Nationality............................................................................51 Inimical Nationalisms..................................................................................... 52 State Decline....................................................................................................53 Kenichi Ohmae, ‘Bureautatorships’, and Central Governments ...........................................................................................55 The State and the Global Economy................................................................ 57 Ladder of Development................................................................................... 59 States as Economic Units................................................................................ 61 The End of the State.........................................................................................63 Concluding Comments .........................................................................................65 4 THE FALL OF THE NATION-STATE SYSTEM ............................................... 67 Richard Cobden, the Spread of Civilisation, and the European States System ................................................................................ 68 Free America, Free Trade, and Universal Dependence..............................68 The European States System...........................................................................73 Tensions and Discrepancies............................................................................ 76 4 David Mitrany and World Unity.......................................................................79 Interdependence without Unity......................................................................80 Nation-States: Exclusive, Sovereign, and Equal.......................................... 84 Historical Context and the Decline of the Nation-State...............................86 Kenichi Ohmae and the World Bifurcated .....................................................90 The End of the Nation-State...........................................................................91 Borderless Business and Myopic Nation-States........................................... 94 But Then There Are Political Leaders.......................................................... 98 Concluding Comments ......................................................................................101 5 PRESCRIBING THE DECLINE OF THE STATE ............................................103 Richard Cobden, Retrenchment, and Reform ..............................................103 No-state Interpretations of Cobden’s Thought...........................................105 Retrenchment, the Franchise, and State-induced Redistribution of Economic Wealth.............................................................107 Exaggerating the Decline of the State..........................................................112 David Mitrany, Liberalism, Social Democracy, and the Social Service State ..............................................................................113 Transcending the Nation-State..................................................................... 116 The Comprehensive State..............................................................................119 Kenichi Ohmae, Neo-liberalism, and the Federal State .............................. 123 Rolling Back the State................................................................................... 124 The Role o f the State....................................................................... 127 Concluding Comments ...................................................................................... 134 6 THE CASE AGAINST THE SYSTEM OF NATION-STATES..............................................................................................137 Richard Cobden and International Laissez-faire ..........................................137 State or N ot.................................................................................................... 138 International Government of Military Armaments.....................................140 International